The Yellow Tricycle
by nhsweetcherry
Summary: Okay, crazy amount of fluff in this one! Can Gordon get into trouble on a tricycle? Well, of course! I believe this is called a Wee Tracy story, and I never thought I would write one, but here it is!


_Okay, this one is based on a true story…one of my younger brothers actually did this when he was three or four. Other than the thoughts going through his mind (I have no idea what my brother was thinking), this is a fairly accurate re-telling, based on what my parents have told us._

 _I had never thought I would write a Wee Tracy story, but come on – tiny Gordon on a tricycle? I couldn't help myself once I had the idea! (Note – I'm not entirely certain what the boys' ages would have been; I kind of made that up. I also know it's a matter of eternal debate whether John or Virgil is older; I went with John as older in this one.)_

 _I don't own the Thunderbirds, and I am making no profit from this story._

The copper-haired little boy was having a blast. Only the week before, his oldest brother Scotty had pulled a battered yellow tricycle out of the back of the garage, and had shown Gordon how to pedal himself around. Since then, Scott had made countless trips around the block with the three-year-old. Sometimes their mother had come along too, walking alongside Gordon while five-year-old Virgil ranged a bit ahead on his training-wheel bicycle. Scott and John, ten and seven years old respectively, were allowed to ride much faster, often circling the block twice in the amount of time it took the others to go around once. One time, even Daddy had come along, prompting Scott to show off by riding as fast as he could, leaving John panting in his wake.

Most of the trips around the block were just Scott and Gordon, though, and eventually Scott's willingness to ride slowly alongside his youngest brother began to wane.

Today, Gordon had asked Scott several times already to accompany him, and had been rebuffed each time. John and Virgil weren't old enough to go with him, so he didn't bother trying them. Mommy was busy baking a cake, and told him with a smile, "Maybe later, Sweetie."

Daddy, surprisingly, was working from home, but was so occupied on the phone it took him several minutes to notice the imploring amber eyes staring at him from over the top of his desk.

He'd excused himself from the phone for a second, covering the mouthpiece with his hand. "Yes, Gordon? What is it?"

"I wanna go 'round the block," he said. "But Scotty doesn't want to, and Johnny and Virg can't, and Mommy's making a cake. Will you _please_ come with me?"

Daddy's face softened, but he cast a glance at the piles of paper covering his desk, and at the phone in his hand. "I wish I could, kiddo," he said. "Tell you what – maybe after lunch, okay? I've really got to keep working for now."

Gordon let out a soft sigh. "Okay, Daddy," he said sadly, turning away.

Before he had even shut the door, Daddy was talking on the phone again.

Gordon stood in the hallway, discouraged, for a moment, before his usual happy nature took back over, and a smile crept across his face. He had just had a brilliant idea – he didn't need _anyone_ to go with him! It made total sense – Scott just went along to show him the way, right? Well, Gordon had made the trek so many times in the past week that he knew there was no way he would get lost. This solved everything! No more begging his brother or Mommy or Daddy to come along. They could just keep doing whatever they wanted, and he'd be out circling the block, all on his own.

His mind entirely satisfied, he headed for the front yard, and in moments, had the gate open and was pedaling happily down the sidewalk.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jeff concluded his business call and was about to dial another number when he remembered his conversation with Gordon. He grimaced, thinking of his little boy's sad face when Jeff had told him to wait.

He glanced at his watch. "Hey, close enough," he muttered. It was almost time to break for lunch anyway – in fact, he figured he would have just enough time to loop the block once with the little guy. As he left his desk and began to search for the redhead, he thought fondly of how all of his sons had first learned to ride that same little yellow tricycle. It seemed like yesterday that he had first helped place Scotty's feet on the pedals and shown him how to push to get himself moving…now Scott and John were whizzing circles around the block, with Virgil almost ready to lose the training wheels, and even Gordon was sturdily pedaling himself along, eyes alight with joy. Jeff shook his head – they were all growing up too fast!

He poked his head into each bedroom. Scott was playing a computer game. John and Virgil were building an epic tower of blocks together in Virgil's room. But there was no sign of Gordon. Heading back downstairs, Jeff checked the front yard, then circled around to the back. By the time he went in the back door into the kitchen, he was frowning.

Lucy noticed his expression at once. "What's wrong?" she asked, wiping her hands clean on a towel."

"Have you seen Gordon anywhere?" Jeff asked. "He wanted me to take him around the block a little while ago, but now I can't find him."

Lucy gave him a look of fond exasperation. "Jeff, that was almost an hour ago," she told him. "He must have found something else to do."

So Jeff circled the house and yard again. When that didn't turn up the little redhead, he had Scott, John and Virgil help him look. John and Virgil were highly gleeful, treating the search like a game, but Jeff noticed with interest that Scott appeared to take the matter very seriously. That had always been Scott's way – from the moment he had first seen John as a tiny baby, Scott had been unusually responsible and protective. This trait only increased with each new brother, leading Jeff and Lucy to have many late-night discussions, wondering if they ought to interfere. They had always ended the discussion with the conclusion that Scott's attitude was fine, as long as he remembered that wasn't actually a parent.

Ten minutes later, there was still no sign of the littlest Tracy. Lucy had joined the search, sharing a worried glance with Jeff.

Scott was the first one to notice the open front gate and the missing tricycle.

Jeff groaned. "You don't think he would've –"

"Yes, I do," Lucy replied.

Jeff turned to his boys. Even the younger two were sober now, recognizing that something serious was going on. "Scott, stay in the house with your brothers." He put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Keep an eye on them, okay? Your mother and I need to go look for Gordon."

Scott nodded seriously, and turned to herd John and Virgil back inside.

Jeff tossed Lucy the car keys. "You drive and I'll walk?" he suggested. Their second car was in the shop, which was why Jeff had been working from home.

With a quick nod, Lucy got in the car and pulled out of the driveway, turning down the road and driving slowly.

Jeff trotted down the sidewalk in the opposite direction, his eyes scanning in all directions for his little boy.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Gordon was getting a little tired and hungry. He paused to look around and blinked in confusion – nothing looked familiar. It didn't occur to him that on his rides with Scott, he didn't usually pay much attention to his surroundings. He simply followed his brother, turning when Scott told him to.

He shrugged. It couldn't be that much further to get back home, he thought. Pedaling on, he paused again as he came to an intersection. Cars were rushing by on the busy road. Hmm…he didn't remember crossing any roads like this, but the sidewalk seemed to go in that direction.

Seeing the cars stop for a red light, he began pedaling his little tricycle across the road.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sylvia Beckett, waiting a few cars back at the busy intersection, watched the light change to green – and then frowned as she heard horns honking up ahead. Craning her neck to see what was going on, she gasped as she caught sight of the obstruction: a little boy, sitting on a tricycle, looking around in confusion as cars began to whiz past him.

Checking her side-view mirror, Sylvia just had time to whip into the next lane and pull around the corner, sliding neatly into a parking space. She left her car at a sprint, hurrying into the crosswalk and scooping up the little boy, tricycle and all. There was less traffic in the opposite direction, so she carried him back to the far side of the road – the direction he had been coming from – and set him safely down on the sidewalk.

He stared up at her with big amber eyes, his expression somewhere between friendliness and shyness.

"Are you okay?" she asked breathlessly.

He nodded, two fingers going into his mouth.

She looked around, realizing that she didn't exactly know what to do with him now that she had rescued him. Where was his family? He couldn't have come from very far away.

"Where are your mommy and daddy?" Sylvia tried asking.

He considered her question, then pulled the fingers out of his mouth long enough to answer, "At home. With Scotty and Johnny and Virg."

Okay. Not really helpful. "Where's your house?"

He glanced around, then turned those huge eyes back on her and shrugged.

Sylvia let out a long sigh. This was _so_ not how she had planned her lunch break. There was no way she could leave him here, though. Well, it was time for some good, old-fashioned foot work. "All right, then," she said, injecting cheerfulness into her voice. "Let's find them together, shall we?"

She scooped the little boy up with one arm and carried the tricycle with the other. Walking back along the sidewalk, she paused before each house and asked, "Is this your house?"

Each query was met with an adamant head-shake.

Her determination rising to the forefront, Sylvia pressed on. This kid had to have come from somewhere, and if necessary, she would canvas the whole town!

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jeff's jog had slowed down to a brisk walk. He and Lucy had met partway around the first block, neither having seen Gordon. After a brief discussion, Lucy had driven in one direction, and Jeff had walked in the other.

He was trying, with less and less success, to fight down the panic rising within him. It was such a big world, and Gordon was such a little boy. The number of things that could have happened to him was staggering.

His thoughts were so overwhelming that he almost missed hearing the voice. He was walking along a tall hedge, approaching a cross street. A woman's voice, tinged with frustration, but more determined than anything, spoke up from the other side of the hedge.

"Is this your house?"

"Uh-uh."

"How about this one?"

"Nope."

Jeff stopped in his tracks, then sprinted forward. He knew that little voice! He and the woman came around the corner at the same moment, nearly running into each other. She gave a cry of surprise that was drowned out by Jeff's shout.

"Gordon!"

"Daddy!" The little boy wiggled from the woman's arms and ran forward to be scooped up by his father.

The woman set the tricycle down on the sidewalk with a tired sigh, then stood back and smiled as she watched Jeff hugging Gordon.

After making sure Gordon was okay, Jeff turned to the woman, nearly shaking her arm off as he thanked her profusely.

"No problem," she said. "He's one tough little guy – I found him in the middle of the Baker Street intersection, just pedaling along like nothing was wrong."

Jeff turned white. "In the middle of the…" he repeated faintly, squeezing Gordon so tightly the little boy let out a squawk of protest. He found himself shaking the woman's hand again. "Thank you so much," he said fervently. "If you hadn't stepped in…is there anything – anything at all – that I can do to repay you?"

"No, no," she said, waving her hands and stepping back. "I'm just glad we found you." She eyed Jeff's disheveled condition. "Just out of curiosity, how much further would I have had to walk?"

Jeff rolled his eyes. "All the way to White Street." He ruffled Gordon's hair. "Trust me, when this little guy gets into trouble, he really gets into trouble!"

Gordon frowned. "Am I in trouble, Daddy?" he asked.

Looking into those heart-melting eyes, Jeff couldn't help but sigh. "Well…no, not really," he said. "But we're going to have to have a talk about when and where you can ride your tricycle."

The woman glanced at her watch. "Well, I'd better be going."

Jeff stepped forward for one more handshake, meeting her gaze with gratitude-filled eyes. "Thank you," he said again.

She smiled. "My pleasure." She waved to Gordon and disappeared back around the corner.

Jeff let Gordon ride the tricycle for a little ways so that he would have his hands free to call Lucy. She was as relieved as he had been – and as horrified to learn that their three-year-old had been found pedaling across a busy road all by himself.

"He's sure not scared of anything," Jeff said, not sure if he ought to feel proud of his son – or terrified of what the future would bring.

Lucy came and picked them up, as they were several blocks from home, and Gordon's little legs were getting tired. Jeff wouldn't have admitted it, but he was more than a bit tired too, now that the adrenaline had worn off.

At home, the other boys met them in the front yard, clamoring excitedly. It took a combined effort from Jeff and Lucy to get the boys to settle down for lunch. After they had all eaten, the older three boys were sent away to play while Jeff and Lucy talked with Gordon.

It took some patience, as the little boy truly believed that he had done nothing wrong – and looking back on it, Jeff and Lucy realized that they may _not_ have actually told Gordon never to go around the block without supervision. After all, he'd only been riding the tricycle for a week.

In the end, Gordon was made to understand that he was not allowed outside the yard without Scott or one of his parents. Jeff and Lucy decided that they would talk to Scott and encourage him to be more willing to go with Gordon around the block – but within reasonable limits.

"You can ask Scott to go around the block with you three times in one day," Jeff told him. "Got it?"

Gordon concentrated, holding up his fingers. "One, two, fwee," he repeated, and gave Jeff a cherubic smile.

Jeff melted inside. He pulled Gordon close for a hug and a kiss, then sent him on his way. "All right, you can go play now," he said, and watched Gordon run from the room. The kid was probably already planning more mischief, he thought ruefully.

He turned to Lucy and saw her watching him fondly. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling like they could probably both do with some snuggling after the scare they'd had. "What do you think he'll be like when he's grown up?" he asked her softly.

She smiled. "I think he'll be a lot like you," she said. "Brave, determined, a great sense of humor."

Jeff grimaced. "At least he doesn't seem to have gotten my temper. He's more like you in that respect – he's very calm and laid back. Takes things as they come."

Lucy pulled free after a moment. "We'd better go talk to Scott before Gordon gets to him."

"Good thinking."

They found the two boys together, though, sitting on the porch steps. Gordon was curled up in Scott's lap as his oldest brother read him one of his favorite books – a story about a fish.

Scott looked up at them. "Gordon says that I'm supposed to take him around the block three times a day?" he asked.

Thankfully, he didn't sound annoyed. Jeff rested a hand on his shoulder. "Yes, if that's okay with you, Scotty. We thought that was a good compromise."

Scott nodded. "Yeah, I don't mind." He grinned and rolled his eyes. "Three times is way better than twenty, anyway!" He tickled Gordon gently.

Gordon giggled around the fingers that had found their way back into his mouth. His adventure seemed to have tired him out, though, and he just snuggled deeper into Scott's lap, his eyes drooping.

John and Virgil were playing in the front yard, and when Lucy sat on the porch swing and patted the seat beside her, Jeff hardly gave a thought to the papers piled high on his desk. He could take a few minutes to enjoy his family. He settled in beside his wife and sat back, watching their boys with pride and delight.


End file.
